3/25 Strength for Today

Serving God with your Spirit

Romans 1:9
“For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers;”

When God created man, He created him in His own image. When we look at the image of God we learn that there are three parts to God. There is God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. We call this the Trinity. Because we were created in the image of God, we also have three parts to our being. Man is composed of body, soul and spirit. If we are going to be successful in serving God, then we must serve God with all parts of our being in order for God to be pleased with our Christianity.

In the verse above, the Apostle Paul said that one of the ways he served God was “...with my spirit...” When Paul said that he served God with his spirit, he was talking about his spirit was in harmony with his physical service to God. In other words, Paul had a good spirit while he served God.

I truly believe that part of the problem with Christians today is they are not serving God with their spirit. Yes, I am thankful that people are involved in serving God physically, for the work of the LORD would not go forward without this. But, the work of the LORD could be furthered greatly if Christians would put their spirit into serving God.

For instance, a half-hearted spirit will create a half-hearted effort. There are many Christians serving God half-heartedly. Because of their half-hearted efforts, they are missing out on the true blessings of God by not giving their all. You will never enjoy serving God with a half-hearted spirit. If you are going to physically do something, then put your spirit into it.

Then, there are some who have a spirit where they feel they have to serve God. This person always says, “I have to go to church.” Every duty this person does is done with the spirit of, “I have to do this.” This spirit will cause others to not want to serve God. Why would anybody want to follow people who have a “have to” spirit?

The best type of spirit we can have when it comes to serving God is a cheerful, happy, full of joy type of spirit. This type of spirit is a choice. This choice starts with a Christian realizing the honor it is to be able to serve God. When you realize the honor you have to serve God, you will put your spirit into serving God. When you involve your spirit in serving God, then you will stop looking at yourself and enjoy the privilege of serving Him.

Watch your spirit and don't let anything destroy your spirit. When serving God, you need to serve Him with your spirit. Make sure that you have the right spirit with everything you do in your service to God. Serving God is a privilege; now let your spirit know that, and you will serve Him with a happy and joyful spirit.

Let your spirit be in agreement with your physical service to God. When the spirit agrees with the physical effort, everyone will see it and great accomplishments can be made in the lives of those whom you serve.